By Christine Kent
Breakthrough research on the cause of and potential cure for lichen sclerosis.
Click the link: A Natural Remedy for Lichen Sclerosis
A Natural Remedy for Lichen Sclerosis
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Hi Christine,
I was diagnosed with LS about 7 months ago. Some days I don’t want to live anymore. Not feeling very much energy yesterday I was online looking for yet more information and found your website. I read your abstract several times from start to finish. I am a chemist by education now working in healthcare. How is the red clover working for you—-do you feel you are now cured? I’ve been on a whole long list of treatments and basically nothing has relieved my symptoms. I want to try the red clover but I think I need to get off of some of the things I am taking, especially the synthetic estradiol and the antidepressants! I did look up the red clover online and got some mixed messages as to its safety. I hope to talk to you more about this soon and thanks so much for posting all your information. Truly, Deb
Hi Deb,
Thanks so much for writing. I cannot know the answers to your questions yet. All I can offer is the science that lends itself well to the theory that LS is an inflammatory process with ERbeta metabolites at its root. In postmenopausal women it may be the beta form of estriol that is the problem – not enough data to tell. I cannot tell any woman to take this or don’t take that. I have also decided not to sell the salve because it just confuses the importance of this information.
It sounds like you have been through the pharmaceutical wringer and this is the irony that I find so amazing…that you would be fearful of clover. What kid didn’t love to eat clover flower stalks when playing in a grassy field? Clover has been safely used since antiquity in cultures all over the world. But our society demands that I tell you to be cautious of it and to ask your doctor for permission to use it.
The word “cure” is not the right concept. I think “balanced” might be closer to the truth in describing a fluid system that is subject to constant variation from inside and outside its environment. I had the most extreme symptoms, which are resolving day by day. My clitoris was replaced by several very painful little bumps, all of which are shrinking to nothing! My vaginal fourchette has been pain-free for several weeks. I have only been doing this for a couple of months, but because my results were predicted by the science, I thought it was good enough to share. I figure it will take six months to become well.
Yes…I would not throw something else into a system already polluted by drugs. Red clover is also a natural anti-depressant. Many different studies are being conducted on it.
Please stay in touch.
Christine
Hi,
I have LS on my skin as well………. and have had salivary hormone tests done…… the interesting part is my Oestriol E3 levels were very high – 4 yrs into menapause 60 yrs old…….. E1 and E 2 were not that high and Tetrosterone was very high too.
I have been putting on progesterone and DHEA cream. Maybe they are interferring…. was prescribed these following intense muscle pain and tests showing both extremely low……….
LS came about the same time………
I will set out to try the red clover teas etc. May even try tinture onto the LS patches on shoulders which are now quite old…….have several new ones on thigh and small amount in vagina……… all a very annoying issue but I am also intrigued by these interconnections with travelling muscle pains………
Any comments appreciated.
Hi Christine,
I went to the health food store last night and bought some red clover. When I got home I found I bought 400 mg capsules. The bottle says to take 2 per day. Will this work as well as the tea?? Also, do you use anything topically on your genital areas??
Thank you so much,
Deb
Hi Christine,
One more question–How much red clover extract do you add to your base to make your salve? I am thinking of using Emu oil. Thanks, Deb
Hi Deb,
I haven’t used the capsules and don’t have any information on whether they work equally as well as the tea. The salve I make is simply red clover and alfalfa (which has similar properties, but not as strong) infused into pumpkin seed oil and combined with bees wax.
I know emu oil is all the rage, but it always sounded like fancy chicken grease to me, so I never tried it. You know what is very soothing – amazingly enough – is butter. Before I lost my source for raw milk, I was making my own butter and yogurt. The butyric acid in butter is a natural anti-inflammatory and settles LS down in a hurry. It is not curative, though.
Are you a coffee drinker?
Christine
Hi Edith,
I am so looking forward to the day when these metabolites are tracked and measured in urine as a matter of course in LS sufferers. I know what you mean about the DHEA and progesterone creams perhaps interfering with the natural balancing action of phytoestrogen. The problem is, how do we really know how much is enough and what ratio of hormone to apply? I would rather trust that nature has that figured out for us.
Please keep in touch.
Christine
P.S. Louise, our forum moderator, has just started drinking red clover tea for an eczema-like skin ailment on her hands and is already seeing results. Good luck!
Hi Christine,
I have been a coffee drinker but I believe you are going to tell me that it is not good for the LS right? So I am trying to curtail or give it up, as well as wine!
I see they sell red clover tea bags online–do you think they are as effective as the tea you make? deb
Deb…I’m going to create a Vulva Health forum on the main forums page. Otherwise, this thread is going to get very long – and it’s hard to have conversations going at several different places.
I saw that you registered for the forum, so how about if we take our conversation over there?
Thanks much,
Christine
Thank you for offering your adventures and experience with LS.
I am 35 yrs old and have been diagnosed with LS. The itching and yeast infection-like symptoms have subsided for the passed several years; although, I have suffered from thrush, yeast infections and itching on my genitals and legs since I was a young child. (Another part of my skin battle has been with acne.)A change in my diet as well as healthful exercise, I believe, has made the most difference. I feel like I’ve tried EVERYTHING to get rid of the itching, but calming and loving myself more was the best cure. Healthy exercise, healthful food (and that doesn’t mean eat salad!) Talk to me directly if you want to know how your diet affects your health.
A couple years ago after the itching stopped, I notice a whitening of my clitoris and labia. I asked my doctor to check this during my physical exam and since there were no other symptoms they were happy to dismiss it. The skin appears healthy and everything “works” quite well. The only indicator was the whitening of the skin which again, feels healthy and has sensation.
The doctor said that cortizone treatment would be the only option and of course, I would not accept a band-aid steroid cure that I would have to use for the rest of my life. I feel as though ultimately it would weaken the area. And I’ve found evidence that others who have used this treatment have skin rash outbreaks of many other kinds in different areas of the body.
Atrophy, shrinkage and loss in that area concerns me a bit. I will continue with a healthful diets of mostly plants, plenty of hydration, healthy fats, which I believe are crucial to keeping our body healthy as a whole, and varying/adjusting my dairy, wheat (gluten) and sugar intake. Keeping hormones and chemicals out of my foods is also important to me.
I regularly use coconut oil to moisturize my skin and will continue to pass this oil on my genital area to keep the skin healthy. I may intermittently take Udo’s Blend of Omega 3 oils to keep the healthy fats plumbing up my skin from the inside out. Aloe, used topically, also sounds like a good option for healthful skin repair.
I also have half a mind to use topically things that would stimulate/bring blood flow/heal the skin, such as a hot mustard bath or tea tree oil (dibluted). Let me know if you have any thoughts on this.
I’ve noticed that dialators have been recommended to keep the vagina from closing off if scar tissue becomes an issue. I’m hoping that while I’m only 35 yrs old, that a healthful loving sex life will nurture this area to stay open and working.
Good positive thoughts and affirmations about embracing my femininity, loving myself as a woman, feeling sexy or maybe I should start by feeling pretty and loving it! Hmmm…
I’ve got a lot of work to do here. We all do, but starting by loving and accepting this amazing disease as the next part of an incredible journey in my life to learn more about my body, meet fabulous people along the way and trust in my faith, spirituality and beauty of this world will carry me anything.
Embrace. Accept. Love yourself more.
Emily
Wow Emily, you have an amazing out look on all of this. I would love to hear more about your diet. I recently talked to someone who went on a vegetarian diet and since has had no symptoms so I’m trying that out.
Please e-mail me if you care to talk more massage.geek@live.com
I will try and Red Clover tea as well.
I have just been diagnosed with LS. I have had symptoms for over 12 months and went to several doctors before being diagnosed. I feel I have no energy! I am a nurse and found that my 12 hour shifts were just too long. Is LS the cause of lathargic feelings?
I will try your red clover. I will try anything.
I have had LS for almost 30 years. I had been on testosterone cream, which didn’t work. Then my doctor did a laser surgery which burned all of the affected skin, hoping the skin would grow back normally. It did not. Now I’m on a steroid cream.
My sex life is non-existant and it is a terrible strain on my marriage. I can’t believe that this disease is still so obscure and that many people in the medical profession have never even heard of it. It’s very discouraging. I don’t think much research for a cure is being done on it. I suffer from depression also. I don’t know if my low energy is due to that or due to this disease. If I am constipated, I split open and bleed. I soak in the tub for relief. This disease has had a grip on my life. I am 49 years old and I have only been healthy for only 20 years of my life., the rest is with this disease. If anybody hears of any research on this or can give me any hope that someday I may be cured, please let me know.
My heart is breaking because my daughter who has Down syndrome and Autism was diagnosed with LS. We first had to undergo scrutiny by DCFS for abuse. I knew all along that it was something medical going on. She is only a little girl. We all really need some answers. I want to try the natural remedies.
The weblink to the article on lichensclerosis is damaged and I was trying to get the article for a friend. Is there any chance I can get the article?
Thanks!
-Cathy
The link to the article is right here and in working order.
I am suffering with this problem and only have had syteroids prescribed. Lately the vaginal aea is closing.I must mention I have had a hysterectomy at 25 and am now 67. Is there help for me?
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